Hello everyone! I've been so busy, I haven't had time to post here yet. I've skimmed through this entire thread. My goals for this challenge are 1) get to my goal weight and successfully maintain it 2) to get into a weight training routine to start toning 3) to try and get to the point where I can actually run 1 mile. I hate running but most runners I know are thin, so maybe they're doing something right! Also I think I'm getting too used to the elliptical so a new form of cardio would be good to change it up for a while.
I love eggplant, it is my favorite vegetable! My family background is Indian, and there are lots of Indian dishes that feature the eggplant as the main ingredient. If you want inspiration, take a look in an Indian cookbook at the bookstore or library, there will likely be some eggplant recipes in there. One of the dishes I really like is a roasted mashed eggplant, often found on restaurant menus as "baigan bherta." To make it is messy because you have to roast the entire eggplant on a gas burner and the juices spill out everywhere. My mom and I came up with a microwaved version since she doesn't have time to stand over the stove and roast the eggplant and I have an electric stove so no roasting happening on that. To keep it simple, we omitted the Indian spices and just used what you would likely have in your spice cabinet.
Cut a 1 lb eggplant into 1 inch cubes, and place in a microwave dish. Microwave until tender, this could take up 15+ minutes for a large 1 lb eggplant. Once it is tender, use your potato masher (or a spoon if you don't have one) and mash the eggplant into a mushy, pulpy consistency.
Chop 1/2 onion and chop a few cloves of garlic (or use the pre-chopped stuff from a jar like I do to save time). Heat up your pan with 1 tbsp of oil (or less oil, but it will be a little less tasty) and sautee 2 tsp garlic for 30 second to 1 minute, followed by the onion. Saute the onion until cooked, and then add 1/2 can of Hunts Fire Roasted Diced Tomato and saute that. To give it a spicy kick, you can add some red pepper flakes or ground red pepper at this time to your desired level of hot. Saute the tomato for a few minutes to start getting rid of the juices, and add in the eggplant. Add salt to your desired level. Saute everything to incorporate it all in with the eggplant for a few minutes until it the water from the tomato is gone and the whole dish is a more dry consistency, not soupy and wet.
When sauteeing the onions and can tomato, you could also add some other vegetables like peas or small chopped carrots to get more veggies into the dish. You could also add some cooked potato either in small chunks or mashed in with the eggplant. Adding green onion and cooking it with the regular onion is also a good addition. Although you could use fresh tomato or regular canned/diced tomato, the Hunts Fire Roasted Tomato adds that element of "roasted" to the dish since we aren't going through the trouble of actually roasting the eggplant.
You can eat it as a veggie side dish or you could put it between bread, toast it, and eat it as a sandwich too.
The first time I made this on my own, it tasted a little bland compared to what my mom made. The difference was in the oil. She added 1 tbsp of canola oil to sautee the garlic and onions which isn't too bad since it is 1 tbsp for the entire eggplant, while I was trying to get by on 1 tsp. Just a consideration.
Just when you think you've heard of EVERYTHING 
was wondering where you were.
I read Bob's new book, so I've been carrying a lil notebook with me to work. I write down what I eat and the time and then set daily goals for myself. I tend to be an emotional eater, so I journal if I eat out of emotion. So far so good. Yesterday was a nice day, a lil on the breezy side, but today is suppose to be in the 80's woohoo! Its suppose to cool back down and be in the 40's by Friday. I wish spring would hurry up and get here. I'm thinking maybe I'd plant a garden this year. It sounds like a lot of work but it would cut down on the groceries a little bit and with the price of gas every lil bit helps. Ok I'm off to get some exercise in got a long ways to go before I can afford my bikini! 
.. Not for vacation, but for work... But anyway I am really exited.. I really have to do a lot of workout in may so I can use a bikini ... Right now I will go and jump some rope.. 
I am always missing my LDR BF and family.
I dropped my son at preschool and his teacher said she has to take my picture with him when I pick him up today. She can't tell me why, but I am SO glad she warned me because I am not the type that comes all put altogether every day...she must have noticed 
I am really nervous, don't like my picture taken AT ALL. 